Thursday, the Celtics spoiled the Wizards' season opener, earning a 122-102 win in the nation's capital.
Boston did so without Sam Hauser, who's dealing with lower back pain. The six-foot-eight sharpshooter shared before tip-off that it's an ailment he has dealt with on and off since the summer.
Sam Hauser has been dealing with on and off back pain going back to the summer. Woke up feeling it today but didn’t feel anything on opening night pic.twitter.com/qWuzaEZq26
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) October 24, 2024
"It's a day-to-day thing," said Joe Mazzulla pregame. "He's getting better, working at it every day, and we'll see how he progresses."
A day later, the Celtics ruled out Hauser for Saturday's tilt against the Pistons.
"We have the flexibility and the depth to go different routes," conveyed Mazzulla about navigating Hauser's absence. "It might not necessarily be a wing, it could be a guard, it could be a big, it just depends on what the matchups are in those second units."
Boston's bench boss continued: "I have trust in whoever we call that they'll be ready to play, just cause of the work that they put in and things that they do. So, it's gotta be everybody by committee, depending upon what the game needs at that particular time."
Kristaps Porzingis, who is rehabbing from left posterior tibialis tendon surgery and aiming for a December return, is again the only other player on the Celtics' injury report.
Saturday night's game between the Celtics and Pistons will tip off at 7 p.m. EST at Little Caesars Arena.
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